The newly released Living Planet Report has stated some striking figures. Not only does it reveal that vertebrates have declined by over 50% since the 1970s, but has put our ecological footprint in terms of the amount of planet earths needed to sustain our demand on nature, coming up with an alarming 2.6 earths for the EU. The UK sit on that average of 2.6 earths, calculated based on our ecological and carbon footprint. Not only are we damaging our continent but our ecological footprint also has impacts on biodiversity abroad. Hopefully, at the European Council meeting in Brussels this October, we will see heads of state agreeing on practical and sustainable solutions to lowering the ecological footprint of the EU.

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Globally, populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles measured for the report have declined by 52 per cent since 1970; and freshwater species have suffered a 76 per cent decline - an average loss almost double that of land and marine species.